Sorry guys..... all true

Kate, Paris,

Should you really be wandering about, 'sniffing' people on All Fools Day? Just a thought....

Donna, Manchester, UK

Hahahaha!!

APRIL FOOLS!

Silly April fools joke! Youuuu little jokesters!

To everyone who actually believed this post...you have my pity.

Elaina, Pheonix/ AR, USA/CA

I'm not sure this is an April Fool you know!

https://www.sniffu.com/uk/sniffu/index.html
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=5860198610

Graham, Gateshead,

Yay I found it...at 1203 :(

Fred, London,

I don't know why everyone is getting so worked up. It's totally optional. If you don't want to be found, don't sign up for the sniff application. And if you do have the sniff app, you can control who can and can't locate you. As for being located without the sniff app, that technology has been around for a long time. If you have mobile phone turned on, you can be located. This app simply allows people to use that technology for fun.

Ron, Moorestown,

I would rather pay 12p and take the time to write a text message saying ' Whr RU?' and get a completely accurate answer than pay 75p and get a general geographical location that could be miles out.
Another great way to waste money for people who are prententious.

Joe, Bristol, England

Doh! I'm sure that people will merely turn their phones off if they are somewhere other than where they say they are. It would be so easy to justify this through expired battery or a weak signal.

Rob, Southampton,

I checked Facebook & there is an application called "Sniff Nordic Friendfinder," so it's not an April Fool - I also saw something similar being advertised on Austrian TV a few weeks ago, so it can be done.
However, I hardly think this is an "invasion of privacy" - if you don't want to get caught, turn off your phone; if you REALLY don't want to get caught, take out your battery too for good measure! And for all the people complaining about the government keeping tabs on you - if you fell down a mine shaft & the only thing that saved you was the signal from your mobile phone, wouldn't it be a good thing? The government only keep tabs on you if they think you're doing something illegal...

Helen Taylor, Plaxtol, Kent

An April fool story? I hope not. Do we really have to do without reliable news on April first every year? Proper news outlets should come down hard on any such misrepresentation by their hilarious staff members. It is at least as bad as those journalistic sins of plagiarism or failing to check facts. In this case, it seems to me that the mere prospect of a hoax may have brought a legitimate item into doubt. Perhaps a banner saying "we do not report phony stories for fun" would be appropriate on this day for serious news organisations.

John Bull, Bristol, UK

It's real...check out FB apps and type "Sniff."

Shaffer, Washington, DC, US

Interesting that the article mentions that each location feed will be 75pence - this is expensive as it relies on the mobile operators providing the location feed, and points to the fact that an operator independent service like Google's My Location is required to keep the cost of location affordable, which in turn will drive location based advertising.

If advertisers have to pay 75p per lookup, then it is unlikely it will fly. If you are reading this, and have not yet read my guest post over on msearchgroove.com (www.tinyurl.com/2vuqmc) then I would invite you to have a read of this as it explains how a different approach around zone detection will help to drive location based advertising. Zone detection is a more effective, and much potentially cheaper proposition that could provide better accuracy than the one cell tower approach of existing location systems.


Read more on location topics at blog.andrewgrill.com

Andrew Grill, London, United Kingdom

It's interesting that we are all in such disagreement with this - yet it will go ahead, along with plenty other invasions of our privacy. Apparently there are 7 countries (including the UK and US) who have been denying for many years now that they keep records on file for 2 years of all the phone calls, text messages and emails sent from a registered device. There is so much evidence to suggest this is true , that they no longer deny these claims.

Sally, London, UK

Octavia in Oxford and Rob in Dubai, this service has been available in Sweden for about a year and is called FriendFinder and is offered by, among others, 3.
Much to my surprise, it is very popular, particularly among young people. The source, I imagine, of many "where r u?" SMSs

Alan J Kelly, Stockholm, Sweden

mmm what's the date today?

Jen Martin, Nottingham, UK

Things will get worse!
I have already avoided using mobiles to prevent being continuously interrupted and being tracked. I am perfectly honest regarding my whereabouts but cannot tolerated mobiles due to the principle of human rights.
However how can one avoid the next stage? In a few years the government will insist on all people being fitted with tracking devices implanted in your body. Try taking out the battery or placing oneself in a Faraday cage (metal box)!!

Gilbert, Cheltenham,

To those thinking its an April Fools try googling "maxis friend finder" - the technology has been around and used for years! Besides, those of you in the UK have you never watched The Bill and heard them using this technique to track someone?

Mike, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Lol, leave your mobile at home if your sick and take a prepaid phone out with you!! when your off sick! dur!!

Adam Webb, MK, UK

If you need this technology in the UK Wapfly has been providing this solution for several months. Let me tell you it has other good uses like if you suffer a puncture while driving to work then you can text to find your nearest repair station. Its good for that and if you want you can have your network switch off your discoverability.....

Nick Blyth, Manchester, England

Yes, perhaps an April Fools, but this has been around for years (not on Facebook though!)

John, London,

old technology - new angle - April Fool - you decide.
http://www.mobilelocators.com/how.php

tim, maidenhead,

this isn't an april fools as some people are sugesting, a quick google search provides links to the facebook website confirming this, but there is no need to panic either, if you dont want to be sniffed then dont sign up to the application, or if your really worried about your privacy, then you shouldn't really be using facebook anyway.

keith, chester,

This is a clear April's fool prank.

Kate, Oxford,

With all the privacy issues Facebook have to comply with, are they crazy to do this? I agree it must be an April fools prank.

However.....
Using the mobile as a streaming ( audio and visual) along with bluetooth tagging has been around for ages, just look at what Next2Friends have done with it.

Roy Shelton, Nottingham, UK

It may be April 1st....
but...
Does anyone remember the good old days BEFORE the mobile phones became popular? The world did not stop spinning just because we didn't have a mobile, everything was fine... Why do we have this excessive need that we just must be reachable 24/7??

Rita, Amsterdam, Netherlands

This has to be an April Fool!!!

Leonie, London,

Hmm, interesting. Remind me, what day is it again?

Abbie, London,

This has to be an April fools. Considering FB does not even show who looks at each others profiles I very much doubt this will happen. Although I know the technology does exist.

M Morris, London, UK

This is just another step along the way of losing all privacy in our modern lives. 'sniffing' just stops short of stalking, which in our society is completely unacceptable; so why should this be any different?

Stuart, Dumfries, UK

I remember the day when my parents knew where I was at and I knew where my children were at et al. Do we really need to SNIFF out our loved ones? I prefer the antiquated and still applicative "God sees everyting you do" phrase. -Because He does.

M Lee, Seattle, WA

This has been about for a couple of years or more now, usually for business to track their sales team and rep but still open to the public.

This is part of the reason I wont own a tracking device (mobile phone).
It's quite ironic that people kick up a fuss about compulsory ID cards yet dont have a second thought about spending £300 on a mobile and then registering it in their name.
Big Brother can track you far easier using GSM or Credit Cards than any ID card.

Phill, The Wirral, England

Why bother having a mobile phone? You can't have a bit on the side and where's the fun in finding out that your wife is playing away? Your boss has 24/7 access to you. You can't even go to the toilet and daydream about a better life without somebody spying on you. The mobile phone must go!

cyril ord, berwick on tweed, United Kingdom

Oh for goodness sake!! This is an April Fool, people!!

Octavia, Oxford,

The US government has the software to a) turn the mike in the phone on and listen b) turn on and track the GPS location c) turn the phone on enough to do a&b when the phone is turned off. The only way around it is to pull the battery. I don't know if the chip sets on international phones would also have this capability. They used this ability to capture the conversions of some of the American Mobsters and got convictions. Another thing to remember is that cell phones are 'radio' phones - their signals can be recorded with the proper equipment. I don't give my priveledged info over a cell or cordless phone - I use an old fashioned 'corded' phone for that.

Wes Byrd, Iowa City, Iowa/USA

April Fools!!??

Rob, Dubai, UAE

I do not know the internal workings of todays cell phones and simply turning one off might not be enough to protect your privacy. Disconnecting the battery might be a better solution to preventing location information from being transmitted. The companies selling these things must be required to provide any secret capabilities that cell phonesmay have and how to disable same. Otherwise look for another cell phone model that does not have secret snooping capabilities installed.

If the cell phone is turned on, then having tracking capabilities might be a good idea if someone is hurt and can not say where they are exactly. Watch out for the slippery slope that progress may bring on.

Russ, Pasco, Washington

The new standard for cell phones will include a global positioning chip. This feature is to be added to provide emergency service to someone who is unconscious and needs medical attention.

The standby power supply in the cell phone is active even when the phone is turned off. The FBI recently modified cell phones to record conversations even when the phone is turned off and uploads the recordings when the phone is turned back on.

Big Brother is Watching (and listening)

Lamarr, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Just because you select the "OFF" button does not mean that an electronic device is off. Short range transmitters do not require a lot of power. They can be picked up from near by receivers in stores, buildings, cell towers close to the interstate and so on. The new phones have more inside than you are aware of. The only way to be sure an electronic device is not "leaking" information is to place it in a sealed Faraday box. Even pulling the battery may not help. What if the battery was the actual transponder? Your habits, routes and buying history are valuble to big companies. Why do you think they give you a Kroger, Food Lion or other discount cards? To track your purchases. Might not be a bad thing but it can be abused and usually is.

Russ, Savannah, US

Bill, its not a hoax or if its meant to be it is misguided - Maxis here in Malaysia have been using similar technology for years. The key is the user has to give his permission first - a major stumbling block to any potential snooping - its fairly straight forward as it simply triangulates the nearest transmitter to the user and feedbacks this information relating to that transmitter tower to someone making the request.
My daughter requested permission for her to track my location but I politely declined!

Mike, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

So it wasn't the Leon Brittan article after all then!

Paul, Singapore,

I call Shenanigans

Dave, Calgary, Canada

Reminds me of a cartoon that ran in Esquire 50 years ago. A gent is seated on a bed in a seedy hotel with a noticably petite lady of the evening, telephone in hand. He tells his wife "I'll be a little late for dinner tonght honey...stopped off for a short one,"

Ben Wilson, Miami, USA

All you have to do is turn your cell off if you don't want to be found.

Billy, Lacey, WA

if we gave the police and govt the power to do search anything about us we would lose all privacy. Think if the govt becomes corrupt or the wrong people are in power how are we gonna take them out of power when they can search you track you do whatever they want. You wont be able too. Thats why it is important to keep our privacy and our freedom.

Alan , Franklin, Tennessee

Absolutely creepy. With each advancements like this, our privacy dwindles away. It will not be long until cell phone contracts include the right to give your pin point locations for anyone/company who pays. It will not be to long till we all sign our privacy to Big Brother.

Brian Witt, Buffalo,

I found this irritating at first until I realized that there is no one that cares in the least where I am.

Bill S, Phoenix, AZ, USA

Of course you forgot to say that shutting off your phone gets you off the hook

Steve, Shelton, USA

Simple: Turn the phone off before you travel to some place interesting. When you return, turn it back on. If you are not at work, and not supposed to be at work, turn off your work phone.

Jon, London, UK

Another bad idea that will become popular with people who have nothing better to do.

Jeff, Ottawa, Canada

Of course, the date has nothing at all do do with this piece

Bill, Singapore,

Can't sniff what it can't find - all you need do is turn off the phone. No signal - no sniff.

Duh.

Clete Torres, Townsville, USA,

Why stop with sniffing? Why not allow the police to search you, your home, your car whenever they want? You don't have anything to hide do you?

If you breath the companies air where you work does that not obligate you to be chipped at least while you are on the premises? You are not one of those slouchers are you?

So many slippery slopes too little time to stand upright.

Joe Slide, New York, New York

An all new meaning to "are you there?"

Tom, Leitchfield, US

Oh, those crazy men!!!! LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!

Scott, angola, IN

Gee! That's funny. All my friends are using similar technology to track their wives and they are never where they claim to be either.

Scott, Chelsea, US